Ethics Commission says it needs another investigator to keep up

A South Carolina agency which conducts inquiries into ethics complaints against state lawmakers said it needs additional funds to hire another investigator.

SC Statehouse. File.

According to The State newspaper, the State Ethics Commission is requesting a sixth investigator to carry out the work. The agency’s responsibilities changed with a 2016 ethics reform law that gave it increased power to look into legislators’ campaign finances in addition to the executive and local government officials it had previously overseen.

The request comes during an in-progress four-year-old investigation into State House corruption that has resulted in guilty pleas from three House members, all of whom resigned. The extra $123,000 is tentatively included in the budget proposal the state House will be debating next month.

Agency director Meghan Walker told a Senate finance panel her agency is also looking to get more involved in the community to inform would-be candidates and government officials about the ethics rules they are expected to follow.